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(10/04/17 11:47pm)
With three more wins, the Middlebury volleyball team pushes their winning streak to an impressive nine games, a mark they did not even reach last year when they won the Nescac crown.
“Our team is getting better each time we step on the court,” Gigi Alper ’20. “Our winning streak is fueling our fire and gives us a lot of confidence going into another challenging home week.”
After they swept a mid-week tune-up against Colby-Sawyer, the Panthers were back in action in Nescac play last Friday, Sept. 29.
The Bates Bobcats visited Pepin and left with another loss (25–23, 25–22, 21–25, 25–22), dropping their record to 5–6 (1–2 in the conference). The match was more tightly contested than the midweek affair with four points being the largest point spread in any set.
After falling behind the Bobcats 7–3 in the first set, Middlebury fought back to tie the game at 14 after a Bobcats attack error. Neither team pulled away as the match progressed, so Isabel Sessions ’19’s kill that clinched the first game for the Panthers was clutch.
In the second set, Bates went on top early again, grabbing a 15–9 lead. However, the early hole in which the Panthers found themselves did not intimidate last week’s Nescac Player of the Week, Becca Raffel ’18, who propelled a 16–5 run for the Panthers and capped the set with a kill down the line. During this momentum-setting set, Raffel became just the fifth Panther in program history to reach the 1,000-kill plateau.
Up 2–0 in sets, the Panthers finally found themselves take an early lead, cruising to the point where they had a 12–7 lead. This time, however, it was the Bobcats who made a late run.
Bates’ 10–3 run was followed by a few attack errors that allowed Middlebury to regain the lead, 19–18, but the late-set surge was too much for the Panthers to overcome.
The fourth, and ultimately final, set was by far the closest. Neither team gained more than a two-point advantage as things were knotted up at 20–20.
Yet, having won plenty of close matches during their nine-game win streak, the Panthers were in familiar territory. The Panthers stayed characteristically cool under the pressure and notched five of the next seven points to take the set 25–22.
Raffel and Sessions paced the attack in the Bates match, as each provided 15 kills, while Gigi Alper ’20 dug 27 balls and Emma Walsh ’21, in her first Nescac action, dished out a match-high 49 assists. The Panther victory was due in large part to a dominating front line that roofed the Bobcats on numerous occasions, which Bates tried to counter by altering their strategy to rely more on dumps, but Middlebury adjusted and was unfazed.
“It was really exciting to get to play in conference games, and it was even better to play with such a great group of people,” Walsh said.
With one Maine school defeated, a second came to town to try to take down the Panthers on Saturday, Sept. 30, but also left with an L. Middlebury defeated Colby College in straight sets (25–13, 25–13, 25–15), pushing their winning streak to nine games. The Panthers thoroughly dominated the match, as Schaefer led the charge on both offense, 11 kills on 17 attempts, and defense with four block assists. After being tied at seven in the opening set, the hosts scored the next nine; important in this run was Raffel, who at one point had three consecutive kills.
The rest of the match was not close. Aside from an 8–6 Panther lead in the second set, the Mules, who hit a low .038 compared to the Panthers’ .393, were never within striking distance. Walsh contributed 32 assists and 12 digs while Emily Kolodka ’18 had 11 digs and a service ace.
Middlebury currently ranks first in the Nescac in hitting percentage (.255) and second in kills per set (12.67), while Raffel leads the conference in kills (176). Most important though is the Panthers’ standing in the Nescac: with four wins to zero losses, Middlebury sits atop the league along with fellow undefeated sides in Wesleyan and Tufts.
The Panthers will be back in action in Pepin tomorrow night at 8 p.m. when they start a pivotal homestand against Connecticut College. The premiere game of the weekend will take place in Pepin on Saturday, when Middlebury plays host to Wesleyan (12–1, 5–0), with match-time set for 2 p.m.
(10/04/17 11:26pm)
The men’s and women’s tennis teams competed in the biggest tournament of the fall season, the ITA Regional Championships on Friday to Sunday, Sept. 29 to Oct. 1.
The men’s team hosted the tournament, and, for the first time in three years, a Middlebury player did not win the regional title. In the women’s tournament at Williams, Catherine Blazye ’20 led the Panthers by reaching the quarterfinal round in both singles and doubles, as she continued her strong start to the fall season.
Lubo Cuba ’19 and the pair of Cuba and Will de Quant ’18 entered the tournament as the one-seed in the singles and doubles draws, respectively, but neither emerged as winner.
Cuba did reach the semifinals before falling to Wesleyan first-year Adam Finkelman 6–2, 6–2. In the first day of competition on Friday, he defeated Amherst’s Kevin Ma from Amherst 6–3, 7–6 (4), and Bowdoin’s Justin Patel 6–4, 7–5. Then on Saturday, Cuba held off Sachin Raghavan from Williams 6–3, 6–7 (6), 6–3, before handling Luke Tercek from Bowdoin 6–2, 6–0 to reach the semifinals. Sunday morning, Cuba fell to Finkleman, ending his hopes of repeating as regional champion.
De Quant and Noah Farrell ’19 advanced to the quarterfinals in the singles. De Quant did so by defeating Bowdoin’s Larry Zhao 7 – 6 (5), 4–6, 6–3 and Wesleyan’s Cam Daniels 3–6, 6–2, 7–5 on Friday, then MIT’s Sean Ko 7–6 (5), 6–3 on Saturday. Later in the day, de Quant fell to Finkelman too, 6–2, 6–2.
Farrell won against Brandon Howard from Nichols 6–0, 6–0, Anupreeth Coramutla from Brandeis 6–3, 6–1, and Ananth Raghavan 7–5, 6–1. In the quarterfinals, eventual champion Brian Grodecki from Williams beat Farrell 6–3, 6–3.
Kyle Schlanger ’18 and Timo van der Geest ’18 also competed in singles. Schlanger reached the round of 16 before losing to second-seeded Steven Chen from Wesleyan, while van der Geest bowed out in the second round.
In doubles, Cuba and de Quant were upset in their first match of the tournament, when Nathan Kaplan and Sean Wei defeated them 8–3.
The pair of Farrell and Peter Martin ’19, after losing its first match in the Middlebury Invitational two weekends ago, made a run to the finals of the doubles bracket. Bowdoin’s Tercek and Grant Urken took down Farrell and Martin 6–4, 6–3 in the finals, denying them the regional championship and a spot in the ITA doubles national championships.
Van der Geest and Schlanger, Middlebury’s other doubles pair, won its first two matches but then lost in the quarterfinals to Williams’ Grodecki and Alex Taylor.
Blazye made the longest run on the women’s side, advancing to the quarterfinal round. She won her two matches on Friday over Katherine Wiley from Tufts 6–4, 6–3 and Hannah Sweeney from Bates 6–4, 7–5. On Saturday, she made her way to the quarterfinals by dismissing Chloe Henderson 6–0, 6–1, but lost to sixth-seeded Leah Bush from Williams 6–7 (5), 7–6 (3), 11–9 there.
Heather Boehm ’20 and Skylar Schossberger ’20 also played their way into the round of 16.
Boehm came from behind to defeat Julia Cancio from Williams 4–6, 6–1, 7–5 and held off Polina Kiseleva from Wesleyan 6–4, 4–6, 6–0 on Friday. The following morning, fifth-seeded Mina Karamercan from Tufts beat Boehm 6–4, 6–1.
Schossberger earned the opportunity to play on Saturday by defeating Trinity’s Vanja Babunski 6–1, 4–6, 6–0 and Tufts’ Margot Shea 6–4, 6–0. On Saturday morning, she fell to Williams’ Mia Gancayco 6–2, 6–2.
Katherine Hughes ’20 and Maddi Stow ’20 added first round victories in singles, but bowed out the next round.
In doubles, the fifth-seeded pair of Blazye and Stow ran into the quarterfinals. They lost a close 8–6 match there to Williams’ Henderson and Rachel Cross. The third-seeded pair of Hughes and Schossberger won their first match 8–3, but also lost 8–6, this time in the round of 16 to Amherst’s Avery Wagman and Anya Ivenitsky.
The team did so well this weekend,” said Blazye. “We had 6 players gain places in the main draw which is unbelievable. The results showed how our hard work is paying off already, and this is just the beginning. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the year holds.”
The women return to action when they play in the Harvard Scramble on Friday to Sunday, Oct. 13 to 15.
The men will travel to Princeton this weekend to participate in the Farnsworth Invitational on Friday to Sunday, Oct. 6 to 8.
(09/28/17 12:25am)
In the weeks after protesters disrupted Charles Murray’s planned lecture at Middlebury College last March, administrators here investigated a student whom a Public Safety officer said was at the protest. The student, Addis Fouche-Channer ’17, insists she was never there.
“I pulled a student off the car with the name of Addis,” the officer told private investigators hired by the college, according to a transcript of the conversation obtained by The Campus. “She had a comment about, you can’t do this to me. Just saying other things. And I thought she was going to get into this racial thing with me.”
In interviews with private investigators and the Middlebury police in March, the officer verbally identified Fouche-Channer by name as the one he pulled off the car driven by college spokesman Bill Burger, which served as the escape vehicle for Charles Murray and Allison Stanger.
The officer gave no other evidence that Fouche-Channer was there, the transcripts show. The Campus is choosing not to release the officer’s name because of the volatility of the situation.
Fouche-Channer went through the college judicial process in the spring and was cleared of wrongdoing after a judicial dean determined she was not at the protest. After Fouche-Channer, who is black, graduated in May, she filed a formal complaint that she had been racially profiled by the officer. The Title IX office then launched a second investigation over the summer that lasted until mid-September, months after the March protest.
A decision was not reached until Tuesday, Sept. 26, when a college human relations officer (HRO) told Fouche-Channer the college does not believe she was racially profiled. They now believe she was at the protest. This decision directly contradicted the judicial dean’s determination in May.
The HRO said the Public Safety officer’s “identification” of Fouche-Channer “was corroborated by other credible evidence.” He explicitly cited only one new piece of evidence in a synopsis of the decision: a statement by a “friend” who said Fouche-Channer was at the car. The HRO did not respond to a query asking the name or relationship of that person to Fouche-Channer. The Campus is choosing not to release the names of the investigators because of the volatility of the situation.
This investigation, which was launched over the summer and consisted of 22 interviews conducted in June through at least August, was based on a preponderance of the evidence standard, in which the side with 51 percent or greater likelihood is ruled in favor.
“Even when the Middlebury judicial system concluded that I was not involved with the protests on March 2nd, [the summer investigator] still conducted his own identical investigation, as if there was still a chance that I was lying about my location during the protest,” Fouche-Channer told The Campus prior to reading the college’s synopsis. “His job was to figure out if [the Public Safety officer] was racially profiling me, not whether I was telling the truth or not. That had already been determined weeks before. Throughout this process I was guilty before I was proven innocent.”
Last spring, when college judicial officers concluded that Fouche-Channer was not at the protest, a key piece of evidence used in the investigation was Wi-Fi logs that showed her location on the night of March 2. The logs were taken from IT’s wireless network interface and required Fouche-Channer’s express permission to release.
During the course of that investigation last spring, an official in the college’s IT department submitted a written statement to judicial officers on Middlebury letterhead that pinpointed Fouche-Channer’s location during the time of the protest.
“Given this data, it is reasonable to believe that the devices associated with [Fouche-Channer] were connected and active in the vicinity of Proctor Dining from approximately 5:33 p.m. through at least 7:25 p.m. on March 2,” the official said. “At 7:48 p.m., the student’s iPhone connected to a wireless access point in Athletics (Athletics-Nelson-ClimbingWall) and remained in the vicinity of Athletics until at least 9:48 p.m.”
The judicial officer accepted these logs as proof that Fouche-Channer was not at the protest or Burger’s car.
But now, per the synopsis of the summer investigator’s report, the college says that the Wi-Fi evidence Fouche-Channer gathered from the school’s IT department last spring “was not necessarily an accurate or reliable indicator of Wi-Fi activity.”
“How is it possible that during an identical investigation, information supplied by the school is now not enough?” Fouche-Channer said in response to the report.
The HRO also said that “because this is a confidential matter” he is not releasing a written decision electronically. He told Fouche-Channer that she can review the report in his office by appointment during business hours. In effect, Fouche-Channer, who lives in New York City, can only view the document by physically driving to campus.
“Following a thorough investigation, Middlebury College has determined that a Public Safety officer did not violate Middlebury policies or engage in any form of profiling when he identified a former student as having participated in an incident on campus last March,” the college said in a statement to The Campus. “The officer’s identification of the former student as a participant was corroborated by other evidence, including eyewitness testimony.”
The Spring Investigation
After Fouche-Channer was accused of being at the protest, the Middlebury police requested an interview with her on March 20 on the basis of the Public Safety officer’s testimony.
“We are trying to identify who might have assaulted Ms. Stanger,” the policeman wrote in an email. Fouche-Channer declined the interview.
Private investigators, two from law firms in Burlington and one from a firm in Middlebury, asked Fouche-Channer on April 21 to “offer your statement.” She declined their interview request three times.
One of two judicial deans, who met with students the investigators had identified, then sent a letter on May 9 charging Fouche-Channer with violating college policy.
“As a result of allegations regarding your conduct at that event, concerns were raised that you may have violated Middlebury’s Demonstrations and Protests policy,” the dean wrote. The case would be heard by the community judicial board because it was a “significant” non-academic policy violation.
The letter said Fouche-Channer could opt to have a “disposition without hearing,” in which students “who do not contest the charges” may ask a judicial dean to adjudicate unilaterally. In effect, she could either go before the judicial board or have the dean make a final judgment on her innocence or guilt.
She chose neither option and instead contested the allegation.
Fouche-Channer described to The Campus her quest to provide the dean with evidence that she was not at the protest — including the aforementioned Wi-Fi logs.
She gathered five statements from friends and a coworker describing their interactions with her before, during and after the time of the protest. She forwarded blog posts for her Chinese class and emails she sent that evening. She also pulled a step counter from her phone that showed increased activity when she was at the gym.
“There’s literally five or six testimonies that place me anywhere else but that protest, and this is actually up for debate because one Public Safety officer couldn’t decide one black person from another person in the dark?” Fouche-Channer said to the judicial dean.
“That may be the case, I don’t know, but he says very clearly that he saw you,” the dean replied.
When Fouche-Channer was first told that she had been accused of being at the car, she flatly said that was impossible. The judicial dean asked, “Do you have any way to prove or demonstrate that?”
The dean said if Fouche-Channer could not supply conclusive evidence that she was in Proctor from 6:45 to 7:30 p.m., the case would go to a full hearing by the judicial board. If other evidence corroborated her claim, the dean said, “then we can 100 percent say that there’s no need to proceed.”
On May 13, the dean ordered judgment in an email to Fouche-Channer. With IT’s Wi-Fi logs in hand, the dean wrote, “there does not seem to be a good reason to move forward with a hearing.”
Fouche-Channer described how the judicial process affected her during her senior spring.
“I spent hours consulting my mentors, collecting evidence, scheduling meetings and trying to manage my own stress and mental health during this process,” Fouche-Channer said. “It was extremely taxing, especially during my last finals week and last few days at Middlebury. On top of this I was also trying to finalize a job. This process made my last moments on campus so much more anxiety ridden and upsetting than you could imagine.”
The Summer Investigation
The saga did not end when Fouche-Channer graduated. Over the summer, she contacted Public Safety seeking an apology from the officer whom she said had racially profiled her. This prompted the formal internal investigation over the summer into whether the officer violated Middlebury’s anti-discrimination policy.
On June 30, the aforementioned summer investigator videochatted with Fouche-Channer to address her charge that the Public Safety officer racially profiled her.
“What I can do is help to find out if [the officer] is a bigot,” the summer investigator said to Fouche-Channer. “And if he’s a bigot, and he falsely identified you because of your race or because of any other protected characteristic, then I personally don’t want him working at Middlebury College.”
The investigator sought to determine whether Fouche-Channer was at Bill Burger’s car. On July 18, the investigator told her, “It has become clear that some additional information will be extremely helpful to an effort to corroborate your claims.”
He asked Fouche-Channer to provide “all correspondence (emails, texts, social media posts, etc.) and all other work that you performed while you were at Proctor during the early evening hours of March 2, 2017,” as well as “copies of all of your correspondence (emails, texts, social media posts, etc.) with others from the time you left Proctor until the end of the day (midnight) on March 2, 2017.”
The Campus spoke with one student who was at Bill Burger’s car and was contacted in August by the investigator. The student, who requested anonymity fearing retribution from the college, said the investigator asked where Fouche-Channer was during the day and night of March 2. The investigator also tried repeatedly to establish whether someone wearing pink was at the car, according to the student, who said definitively that Fouche-Channer was not at the car.
“Throughout this investigative process there’s never been an attempt to hold administrators accountable,” the student said. “Their only focus is the ruthless and unrelenting path of trying to identify and punish students.”
Fouche-Channer still maintains she was not at the protest. After the synopsis of the investigation was released on Tuesday, she criticized how her racial profiling complaint was handled.
“The way that this case was processed is appalling. I have multiple pieces of evidence both supporting myself and opposing [the Public Safety officer’s] supposed innocence, but this still was not enough,” she said.
“My advice to current students, especially those of color, is to beware of . . . the Middlebury safety system as a whole. Racial profiling and racism are alive in the very institutions set up to protect us.”
A version of this story originally appeared online last Friday. This is an updated and expanded version. The Campus will continue reporting this story as it develops.
(09/27/17 11:47pm)
The Panther volleyball team remained scintillatingly hot, notching a win at St. Michaels on Tuesday, Sept. 19, before sweeping the Roadrunner Invitational with victories against Farmingdale State, New York University and the hosts, Ramapo. The wins on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 22 and 23, were welcome presents for Sarah Staver ’19 and Emma Walsh ’21, who both celebrated their birthdays this past weekend.
In its midweek tune-up, Middlebury defeated in-state opponent St. Michael’s in straight sets (27–25, 25–11, 25–10). While the second two sets were never truly in doubt, the opener was a tightly contested affair with neither team gaining more than a four-point advantage. Down 24–20, the Panthers were on the verge of dropping the first set but saved four consecutive set points, capped off by a kill at the hands of Eliana Schaefer ’18. After a Becca Raffel ’18 kill and a St. Michael’s error, the first set went to the Panthers.
The second set saw a 7–7 tie before Middlebury turned up the pressure by winning nine of the next 11 points and never looking back. Beth Neal ’20 ended the set with two service aces (she finished the match with three).
The third set was knotted up at five before a 6–1 Middlebury run led to an 25–10 third set win, clinching a victory for Middlebury.
The Panthers’ victory showed up in the statistics too, from a higher hitting percentage (.400 to .050), Blocks (seven to three), Digs (38 to 34) and Aces (10 to three). Isabel Sessions paced the attack, converting 68% of her attempts into match-high 13 kills. Raffel, known more for her offense, led the squad in digs (9), while Walsh, getting her first real time filling in for the injured Chellsa Ferdinand ’20, dished out a match-high 28 assists.
Though the injury to Ferdinand is less than ideal, Schaefer said, “we aren’t letting one setback get in the way of our goals.”
In the opening match of the weekend against Farmingdale State, Middlebury was victorious: 5–11, 25–18, 23–25, 25–20.
Down 2–1 in the first set, a kill by Schaefer sizzled the net and sparked a 13–2 run that gave the Panthers a lead they would never relinquish. The second set saw an unexpected comeback by the hosts, who rallied from a 10-point deficit to cut the Middlebury lead to 21–18. Then, two Farmingdale attack errors, a Walsh kill and a Jaime Donnelly ’21 kill gave Middlebury the second set.
The Panthers had a 21–18 lead in the third set, but a smart timeout by Farmingdale allowed them to regroup and score seven of the next nine points and steal a set. The fourth set, deadlocked at 15, looked to be a nail-biter until a 7–2 Middlebury run set the stage for a victory. Walsh, the birthday girl, finished the match with a service ace.
The second day of the invitational was not much different, with the Panthers controlling most of both matches. They earned a four-set victory against NYU (25–11, 25–20, 20–25, 25–20) and a straight-set win against host Ramapo (25–22, 25–14, 25–19). In the opener, Raffel pounded a match-high 16 kills while Schaefer contributed three blocks. Walsh built off her impressive debut and contributed 38 assists in the first and another 35, while the other birthday girl, Staver, produced nine kills and a pair of service aces in the concluding match.
“We didn’t know much about the teams we played beforehand and did a nice job developing strategies as we went along,” Raffel said, pleased with the weekend’s results. “A lot of new players stepped up.”
After the weekend, Middlebury now ranks in the top-two in the Nescac in service aces (72) and kills per set (12.54) but leads the pack in hitting percentage (.249). Raffel leads the Nescac in kills (145), while both Staver and Schaefer place in the top five in hitting percentage (.350 and .318), respectively.
Middlebury returns to Pepin Gymnasium when it plays host to Nescac opponents Bates and Colby on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 29 and 30.
(09/27/17 11:31pm)
The men’s water polo club hosted its first tournament of the season last Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 23 and 24. After just nine days of practice, the Panthers had a packed schedule, playing two games each day against fellow New England Club Division members.
“Water polo is a fun sport because it’s a lot of hard work, but in all the years I’ve played it’s always been with a great group of guys,” said team captain Kevin Benscheidt ’17.5, who has played the sport for more than a decade now. This tournament marks the beginning of his fifth and final season at Middlebury.
“We have only two new players and lost quite a few last year, so [this is] going to be a team where a lot of people step up,” Benscheidt said of Middlebury’s 11-person squad. “Part of that is learning how to play better together.”
The Panthers faced Boston College at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 23. Middlebury’s only goal that half came from Benscheidt, and by halftime, Middlebury was trailing 10–1.
If it weren’t goalie Diego Espino ’19 who helped keep the Eagles at bay with a couple of standout saves, the score would have been worse.
Middlebury found a way to score five goals in the second half, in spite of Boston College’s much deeper bench.
Sam Van Lokeren ’21 led the charge in the second half, scoring the first goal of his Middlebury career on a power play in the third quarter. Van Lokeren soon added another goal to his record, and Benscheidt contributed two goals to the effort. David Cohen ’20 took advantage of a man-up situation to make the score 6–13.
“We play in a league that has a lot of [Division I] teams,” Benscheidt ’17.5 explained. “So what typically happens is [that we get] our butts kicked every once in awhile, but [we] just [take] a lesson from it every time.”
Middlebury kept that in mind for its 6 p.m. game against the University of Connecticut later that day. The Panthers got off to a fast start as Aidan Strayer ’19.5 won the opening sprint.
Nick Handali ’20 capitalized on a six-on-five opportunity in the first quarter, which ended at a 1–1 standstill. Then Cohen was able to put Middlebury ahead 2–1 just before the half.
Cohen helped lead the scored four more in the second half — one from a man-up situation in the third quarter and one on a penalty shot in the fourth.
“[We] didn’t really pull away until the last quarter,” Benscheidt said. “Finally … we were really stringing things together and I think playing as we should.”
Middlebury’s other goals came from Benscheidt (1), Greyson Zatzick ’20 (1), Van Lokeren (4), and Taylor Moore ’18 (2).
On Sunday, Sept. 24 at 9 a.m., Middlebury lost 7–11 to Yale.
However, Middlebury won the first quarter 3–1. Benscheidt ’17.5 scored twice in right away, and Van Lokeren was able to score on a power play.
“We had an awesome first quarter. It was very technically sound playing. Then things kind of started falling apart. A lot of it has to do with fitness.”
The Panthers fought to score four more goals that day. Benscheidt had one more goal, Van Lokeren had two more, and Strayer scored Middlebury’s seventh in the final minute of play.
Middlebury fell to Boston University (6–14) in its final game on Sunday, Sept. 24. Goals came from Cohen (2), Benscheidt (1), Van Lokeren (2) and Moore (1).
“We’ve had quarters that are really solid, but we haven’t [been able to string] it together for a full game,” Benscheidt said.
This time, Middlebury was able to outscore Boston University 3–1 in the third quarter.
“I don’t think people were really meant to play four water polo games in a weekend,” Benscheidt said. “But because we’re a club program we have to consolidate all of our league play into three weekends of intensity.”
With a 1–3 record, Middlebury is now ranked sixth out of the eight teams in its division. The Panthers will have a week to prepare for its next tournament at Yale University on Oct. 7 and 8.
“The game plan is to build to [nationals],” Benscheidt explained. “When we play teams from schools of similar sizes, things tend to click into place.”
The Panthers are set to host the Division III National Collegiate Club Championship at the Natatorium on Oct. 28 and 29, which gives them an automatic bid regardless of this season’s results.
(09/21/17 1:08am)
In a contest that came down to the final minutes of play, the football team took its season opener against the Wesleyan Cardinals 30–27 on Saturday, Sept. 16.
The opening minutes of the game was studded with excitement as Middlebury scored on the opening drive. Starting quarterback Jared Lebowitz ’18 connected with Frank Cosolito ’19 on a 10-yard pass, which Cosolito took 60 yards into the Panther end zone. Middlebury missed the extra point, giving the hosts a 6–0 advantage.
Wesleyan answered with a 52-yard touchdown of its own and made its extra point giving the Cardinals a 7–6 lead. It would, however, be short lived. Jimmy Martinez ’19 bobbed and weaved through Wesleyan tacklers on the ensuing kickoff to give the Panthers a 13–7 lead. Martinez, who holds five track and field school records, caught the ball at the four-yard line and returned it 96 yards for a Middlebury touchdown.
“Jimmy’s house call was a huge moment for the entire team,” Jourdon Delerme-Brown ’19 said. “It was an electric moment on the sidelines for sure. Everybody, offensive, defensive, tackles and D-backs, were super energized.”
Martinez did not stop there. Late in the first quarter, Lebowitz connected with Martinez three times, including a 25-yard touchdown pass-and-catch to give the Panthers a 20–7 lead. Lebowitz, who finished the game 22–44 for 352 total yards, continued to dominate the passing game.
While the hosts were unable to score, their defense held the Cardinals to one score in the second quarter. Leading by seven at the half, the Panthers looked to come out firing in the second half.
Middlebury only scored once in the third quarter. Unable to find their earlier offensive connections, the Panthers were forced to settle for a 23-yard field goal by Carter Massengill ’19. His field goal would prove to be decisive by the end of the contest as Middlebury would win by three.
In the opening minutes of the fourth, Lebowitz connected with Conrado Banky ’19 for two passes, before hitting Maxim Bochman ’20 on the 25-yard route to give the Panthers a 30–13 advantage. Wesleyan, however, was quick to answer. Eighty-four yards and six plays later, the Cardinals had marched down the field, scored a touchdown and sealed the extra point. Trailing by 10, Wesleyan recovered an onside kick to swing the momentum of the contest and with 3:15 remaining on the clock, Wesleyan scored.
The Panthers, however, did not lose their composure, even after they were unable to score off a short kick-off and had to punt. Wesleyan started from its own 39-yard line. With the season opener on the line, someone needed to change the momentum and put Middlebury on top.
Bobby Ritter ’19 answered with a interception on the first play of the drive. From the stands, it seemed that he had just broken up the pass, but suddenly a roar erupted through the crowd as Ritter sprinted towards the Panther endzone. Though he was tackled short of the goal line, the game was all but won at that point.
“Bobby’s pick restored life back in our side and got everyone’s energy levels back to 100 percent” said Diego Meritus, who was sidelined on Saturday’s game due to a quad injury. “They had just scored on us and started eating away at our lead. But Bobby’s pick really brought us back to where we needed to be.”
Wesleyan was unable to score in the final 40 seconds, completing Middlebury’s first victory of the season. Meritus further weighed in on the success of his team.
“We knew everyone would have to contribute in order for us to place ourselves in a position to win and I think that much was clear on Saturday,” Meritus said. “We had guys playing positions they don’t usually play and making big plays and that made a huge difference.
“More importantly, we matched Wesleyans physically and intensity,” the third year running back said. “Everyone knows them around the league as intense and physical, but clearly we did not back down from them and we came out with a win.”
The Panthers’ big showdown with Amherst on Oct. 7 is fast approaching, but they will be back in action before that this Saturday as they take on Bowdoin in Brunswick, Maine.
(09/20/17 11:49pm)
Each September, the student mail center sees its highest volume of incoming mail items, processing close to 13,000 packages and pieces of general mail in just one month.
These packages often containing supplies sent to students as they move in, according to Jennifer Erwin, a facilities manager.Erwin said that the center on average processes 7,000 items during the other months of the school year.
While the excess of packages poses challenges for the staff, a number of steps are taken to prepare for the back-to-school rush. Student workers are trained, special storage accommodations are made, and staff work special hours.
“We prepare for this increase in many ways,” Erwin said. “We utilize the student package warehouse during September to help with processing all oversized packages such as mattress pads, bikes and TVs, thus freeing up much needed space in the mail center.” The warehouse is located behind the student center on South Service Road.
Erwin said student workers also help with the rush.
“By doing their routes and helping at the window, it allows the mail center staff to focus on processing the high volume of incoming mail and packages,” Erwin said. “We also work Saturday mornings during the month of September, allowing us to get a jump start on processing mail and packages that have been received on Saturday, and it allows students a window of time to pick up their packages on the weekend.”
According to Erwin, a large part of keeping the mail center running smoothly during September is communicating with the student body about how to best navigate mail pickup process during the September rush.
Erwin said that students waiting to receive an email from the center and reading these emails carefully is key in keeping the pickup process running smoothly.
“We try hard to educate the student body to review the proper information which is included in their email message from the mail center to help us deliver their packages,” she said. “This information being how many packages they have and what type they are.”
“And we also encourage the students to wait to receive an email from the mail center and not to come down when they receive an email from the sender telling them their package has arrived,” Erwin said. “Only when they receive the email from the mail center has their package been received and processed and ready to pick up.”
Students generally pick up school supplies and items forgotten at home during September.
“I’ve picked up two packages and am expecting to get two more this week,” Hannah Gokaslan ’20.5 said. “They’ve mostly been books and stuff for my dorm that I forgot to bring with me.”
Students also said that mail pickup at the center has run smoothly, despite the rise in processing in September.
“I don’t think it’s been that much more crowded than usual, although I went to pick up my mail on a Friday, which is always kind of busy,” Gokaslan said.
Erwin said that, overall, the mail center staff looks forward to September, despite the high processing volume.
“While there is a huge increase in the volume of mail and packages, and this in itself brings challenges, we look forward to this time of year and prepare for it,” she said. “We enjoy what we do and look forward to getting the packages and mail to the students in a timely manner.”
(09/14/17 4:01am)
Offensive MVP: QB Jared Lebowitz ’18
Admittedly this is kind of a Chris Broussard take, but there may be no player in the league more important to their team than Lebowitz is to the Panthers. The entire Middlebury offense is designed around his ability to throw darts all over the field. The rest of the league has caught to them, but Middlebury is still the leader in no-huddle throughout the league. That can’t happen without Lebowitz. However, he “only” competed 57% of his passes last year, and threw 12 interceptions in eight games. Of course, he also threw 29 touchdowns, so these complaints are nitpicking to a certain extent. But for Middlebury to really compete with Trinity (and most likely Amherst this year), Lebowitz will have to bring his game up still another notch. And the graduation of receivers James Burke and Ryan Rizzo, as well as several key offensive linemen, will make his job harder than ever.
Defensive MVP: LB John Jackson ’18
Middlebury has lost a lot of talent in a lot of places this off-season, and linebacker is certainly one of them. This is almost entirely due to Addison Pierce ’17. Pierce was a terrific linebacker, leading the team in tackles with 62, but his influence on the team was wider than that. He was a leader, and many players on the team, offensive and defensive alike, have mentioned that he will be missed. However, luckily for the Panthers and their fans, John Jackson is still around to pick up the slack. Jackson uses tremendous speed and agility to be a menace in the backfield, picking up 7.5 sacks last season. He’s also effective in coverage, picking up one interception and several deflections. He picked up 41 tackles as well, despite Pierce’s presence. He will certainly get more chances to eat up opposing running backs this season.
Player to Watch: WR Tanner Contois ’18
The Panther receiving corps was among the best in the league last season, and that was with Contois missing pretty much the entire season with a knee injury. Now that James Burke and Ryan Rizzo graduated, the Panthers are in need of another threat at receiver. Conrado Banky ’19 might well be the best in the league, but teams are going to double and even triple team him every chance they get. Contois has been very impressive in camp thus far, and looks fully recovered in terms of speed and quickness. If he and lanky deep threat Jimmy Martinez ’19 can be weapons, teams won’t be able to key in on Banky, and the Panther offense will keep right on rolling.
Key Game: October 28 vs. Trinity
Middlebury lucks out this year and gets to play Trinity at home. As Colby pointed out in his preview, Trinity was the league champion last year and brings back nearly every key contributor, especially on offense. Therefore, they are the odds on favorite to win this season. If Middlebury has any hope of taking the crown, they will need to take care of the Bantams.
Summary:
The Panthers spent much of last season in a three way tie with Tufts and Trinity for the top spot in the league. However, they lost handily to both those teams, and Wesleyan climbed into the mix. By the end of the year it was clear that they were a step away from contending with those powerhouses, and Middlebury ended with a slightly disappointing fourth place finish. Now star quarterback Reece Foy ’18 has returned to Amherst after missing all of last season with a knee injury, so the Mammoths seem poised to take their spot back in the upper tier. Additionally, the Panthers had one of the largest departing classes in the league, both in numbers and in talent. Middlebury has their work cut out for them if they want to improve on their 6–2 mark from 2016. But they certainly have the talent returning to it.
The Panthers’ biggest losses are definitely on offense. For most of the last decade, Middlebury’s philosophy has been to air it out, and with good reason. Coach Ritter certainly has earned the right to call himself a quarterback guru, with Don Mckillop, McCallum Foote and Matt Milano all earning all-Nescac nods under him. Jared Lebowitz ’18 has the talent to be the best one yet, and put up a mostly-stellar season last year. This was due in large part, however, to most talented receiving class in the league. Phenom Conrado Banky ’19 earned an all-Nescac First Team nod, James Burke ’17 landed on the Second Team, and Ryan Rizzo ’17 offered a dynamic third option and also excelled as a return man. Only Banky remains from that group. Unless young receivers like Jimmy Martinez ’19 can step up, Middlebury might need to balance their offense more than in years past. Running back Diego Meritus ’20 showed flashes of excellence last year, and should be ready to explode in his junior year with a heavier workload.
Lebowitz’s job will also be made more difficult by a young offensive line. Senior leaders like Andy Klarman provided needed stability to a unit that struggled at times last season, and there is still uncertainty about who will fill those spots. Lebowitz showed himself to be prone to rushed decisions at times last year, and a shaky offensive line could only exacerbate that problem.
The defense mostly returns, with a few notable exceptions. DB Nate Leedy and LB Addison Pierce provided stability and toughness to a unit that was otherwise very young, and they both graduated. Leadership responsibilities now fall largely on the shoulders of LB John Jackson ’18, and anyone else who steps up throughout the year. However, for all that leadership Middlebury still gave up 48 points to Tufts and 49 to Trinity. The defense will have to improve a great deal for the Panthers to remain one of the elite Nescac programs. Middlebury lost a lot in the off-season, but that could give several youngsters a chance to step up. Hopefully they continue their high level of play and Amherst returns to glory, giving us a real five way race at the top of the league.
Nothing but NESCAC is a student-run blog that provides Nescac sports with in-depth analysis usually reserved for Division One athletics. It grew out of PantherNation, a Middlebury-centric blog run by Damon Hathaway ’13 and Jeff Hetzel ’13. When Joe Macdonald ’16 and Bowdoin student Adam Lamont ’16 took over, they expanded coverage to include baseball and brought in writers from almost every Nescac school. More recently, co-editors Rory Ziomek ’17 (Tufts) and Peter Lindholm ’17.5 have added women’s soccer and basketball. With coverage, feature articles and a strong social media presence (@CACSportsBlog on Twitter, Instagram coming soon) Nothing but Nescac strives to be a sports blog that serves the entire NESCAC community.
(05/11/17 1:42am)
The baseball team is sitting pretty at 20-14 after winning against Bowdoin on Saturday, May 6, and splitting a doubleheader against Tufts on Sunday, May 7. Against Bowdoin, the Panthers managed to get five innings in before it began to pour. Bowdoin took an early one-run lead in the bottom of the first, but Middlebury was quick to respond with two runs. Kevin Woodring ’20 knocked Justin Han ’20, who had reached on a single. Phil Bernstein ’19 increased the lead 2-1 after he scorched a line-drive double into right field scoring Woodring. The Polar Bears clawed back knotting the score at 2-2 and tacked on another two runs in the bottom of the third giving the hosts a 4-2 advantage.
But Middlebury exploded for six runs in the fourth inning. Woodring plated the first run on with an RBI double to left field, while Grant Elgarten ’20 hit a two-run single to take a 5-4 lead. Brooks Carroll ’20 bunted down the first base line, beating the pitcher to the base and scoring Elgarten. Sam Graf ’19 capped off the inning with a 360 foot shot that hit the top of the fence, scoring two more.
The hosts were unable to muster a response as Middlebury scored three more at the top of the fifth. Bernstein, who finished the game going a perfect 3-3 with two doubles and three RBI’s, hit the second of his two doubles scoring two runs giving the visitors a 10-4 lead. Ryan Rizzo ’17 scored the final run of the game on a sac-fly.
Dylan Takamori ’17 took over after Spencer Shores ’20 struggled, allowing four runs on five hits. Takamori earned the win with 2.1 innings of scoreless relief.
The Panthers improved to 19-13 and headed down to Boston, Mass. for a two-game series against Tufts University.
“If we can just get one guy on, we can make the opposing pitcher feel some pressure which allows us to then capitalize on his mistakes,” Bernstein said about the team’s batting rhythm.
“Once we get a rally started, it’s pretty hard for opposing teams to get us out, and has led to some pretty big innings this season.”
On Sunday, May 7, Middlebury split with the no. 11 nationally ranked Tufts Jumbos. The game remained scoreless until the top of the fifth inning when Han came up to the plate and blasted a 340–foot opposite field home run to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. Although Tufts loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth, starter Colby Morris '19 got out of the jam without allowing any runs. Middlebury tacked on three insurance runs in the top of the seventh when Woodring hit a bases clearing double into the right-field gap. Conor Himstead ’19, who leads the NESCAC with six saves, retired the Jumbos batters to secure the win.
In the nightcap, although the Panthers lost 6-1, they out hit the Jumbos 6-4. Colin Waters ’19 suffered the loss, but he will undoubtedly be back for redemption in the NESCAC playoffs.
“The feeling was awesome,” Woodring said of the win earlier that day. “As a team, we’ve been trying to compete in every game we’ve played in and it was great to get a win like that today. We couldn’t have been happier with a win today, especially against a high caliber team like Tufts.”
The team feels optimistic as they head into postseason play.
“We’re focused, having fun, and playing relaxed,” said Bernstein. “As a result, we’re playing our best brand of baseball right now and that’s exactly what we need as we head into the NESCAC tournament this weekend.”
“We are playing like a team ready to win a NESCAC championship,” Sebastian Sanchez ’18 added. “Our energy, our focus and our determination is truly out of this world. We have trusted the process and it has paid off. Midd Baseball is hot, watch out.”
(05/11/17 1:34am)
This past weekend the men’s lacrosse team saw their season end when they lost to top-ranked Bates in the NESCAC semifinals in Lewiston, Me.
A hard road stood between the Panthers and the conference title, as they would have to overcome a Bates team that went undefeated in conference play to get to the championship game. Their victory over no. 3–seeded Amherst the week before set the Panthers up for the contest against the undefeated Bobcats, the #1 team in the country and the host of the tournament. In an riveting matchup, the Panthers upstaged Bates and spoiled their historic season, punching their ticket to the NESCAC final with a 14-13 victory. The win set them up to face Wesleyan after the Cardinals’ win over Tufts that same day.
In the game against Wesleyan, defense was the name of the game: the Cardinals took a rather conservative approach, positioning most of their players on their half of the field to keep the score low and keep the game within reach for a late comeback. Wesleyan was ultimately able to close in and cut the gap of the Middlebury lead, scoring three unanswered goals late to take a 9-8 lead and ending the Panthers’ season.
Coming hot into the game was goalie Chase Midgley ’19, the reigning NESCAC player of the week and the starter for both of the weekend’s matchups. Midgley brought his A-game again against the Bobcats as the star goalie stopped 19 of the 32 shots that Bates rocketed off on the day.
The Panthers entered the game “confident and excited for the challenge,” Midgley would say afterwards; they were ready to go against the team that barely beat them a few weeks before.
The Panthers started off strongly with a quick goal from Henry Riehl ’18, followed by a 3-1 scoring run powered by A.J. Kucinski ’20, Chase Goree ’20, and Parker Lawlor ’18. Bates scored four more goals in the first quarter, but Middlebury kept pace with two of their own by Frankie Cosolito ’20 and Kucinski; the score stood at 6-5 in Middlebury’s favor by the end of the first frame.
The second quarter was far more defensively oriented: Middlebury only scored one more goal, netted by Riehl, which was countered by two from the Bobcats. With a 7-7 score that essentially amounted to a clean slate after halftime, Midd came out firing in the third quarter with quick goals from Kucinski and JP Miller ’17. The Bobcats responded with one of their own before the two teams began trading scores, with goals by by Miller and Lawlor answered respectively by Bates to bring the tally to 11-10 going into the final frame.
Every time Bates was able to score in the fourth period, the Panthers were able to answer in turn. In the end, the Bobcats couldn’t mount a comeback; Middlebury came away with a victory to the tune of a 14-13 final score, sealing the biggest win of the year for the Panthers.
After the big win on Saturday, the Middlebury squad had a quick turnaround for the NESCAC finals against Wesleyan on Sunday. Wesleyan sat in a zone and wasn’t terribly aggressive on defense: they didn’t press outwards in order to slow down the game and keep the score low. This strategy made it difficult for Middlebury to shoot by limiting their one-on-one matchups against Wesleyan defenders.
While Middlebury was able to best Wesleyan early on, taking a commanding 6-2 lead heading into halftime, four goals would prove to be too narrow of a margin. Wesleyan was able to score back-to-back goals with a man up on the Panthers in the third quarter, narrowing the margin to 8-6 heading into the last quarter.
Penalties continued to hurt the Panthers as Wesleyan scored two more man-up goals to even the score. With five minutes left, the Cardinals ripped a shot into the back of the net to put the final nail in the coffin for the Panthers’ season. The scoring would end there as the Panthers couldn’t manage to tie up the game; despite another great game from Midgley, who had 13 saves, the match ended at 9-8 in Wesleyan’s favor.
Despite an up-and-down season for the Panthers, the team was certainly pleased with the strong ending to their 2017 campaign.
“Beating Bates was awesome and set the stage well for next season,” said Chris Bradbury ‘19. “It showed that despite all of the injuries we faced, we were still able to come together as a group and beat the best team in the country.”
(05/11/17 1:12am)
The Middlebury Maple Run, an annual half marathon, took place in and around Middlebury on Sunday, May 7, beginning at 9 a.m. The race covered 13.1 miles that started on South Street, passed the University of Vermont Morgan Horse Farm, passed down Weybridge Street for a section and looped through Middlebury’s campus before ending behind Porter Hospital, according to the Maple Run website.
Co-race director Sue Hoxie said that the race organizers have tried to add new components each year. “We try to add something new or different each year to keep the event fresh,” Hoxie said. “Over the years we’ve added the 2-person relay race, the 3M Fun Run, [which is] new this year, finishers’ medals, the pancake breakfast [and] music along the course from student bands. There are other things we’ve added that are less apparent to the runners such as improved safety measures, sag wagon, signage along the course, potties along the course.”
Conditions were favorable, although runners did have to endure a brief spell of light rain early on in the race, according to runners who participated. In addition to the individuals’ half marathon, the Maple Run offered a relay covering the same distance and a 3-mile “Fun Run” that traversed a shorter portion of the course.
Middlebury students were well-represented in the field of runners in the half marathon, with multiple students completing the race among the top ten of all finishers. Ben Arquit ’20 took first out of the entire field, finishing the course in 1:21. James Lumley ’19 took third, finishing in 1:25, and Jacob Brady ’17 finished sixth with a time of 1:26, according to the race’s results page.
Runners in the half marathon showcased a range of ability and experience level. Allison Stevens ’20.5 hadn’t had much competitive running experience prior to training for the Maple Run.
“I had never run a half marathon, but it has always been on my bucket list,” Stevens said. “It gave me a goal to work towards.”
The race does have a time cut-off that, according to the website, encourages an overall competitive field. Runners had to maintain a rough 13-minute mile pace to avoid their times being discounted.
“The majority of the people were running a very decent pace,” Stevens said. “The cut-off time was two and a half hours, so no one could really walk or run much slower.”
The Maple Run’s course took runners on packed dirt roads for about half of the race and cement streets for the other half. Traffic in and around Middlebury was slowed due to road closures on South Street and South Street Extension. Runners said that conditions were decent overall, with light rain falling for some of the race.
“The weather was ideal for a race since it wasn’t too hot and slightly rainy,” said Julia Sinton ’20.5, a Middlebury native who ran the race.
The Maple Run has historically attracted hundreds of runners from around Vermont and the greater New England area. As in years past, participants from Vermont comprised a majority of runners who competed. Middlebury, Burlington, Salisbury and Montpelier were particularly well-represented in the field. The race drew about 700 runners total among the three races offered. The race was sponsored by an array of local organizations and businesses such as Cabot cheese, Two Brothers Tavern, the Addison County Chamber of Commerce and the National Bank of Middlebury, among others.
Hoxie said that the race has had a significant impact on the Middlebury community, from fundraising goals achieved to a tourism uptake.
“When it was founded in 2009 the goal was strictly fundraising and creating an event during tourism’s ‘shoulder’ season to bring people to town during a down time of year,” she said. “We’ve achieved both of those goals. The race has donated about $60K out to local non-profits [since it was founded] and typically 40 percent of the runners come from out of state."
Sinton shared that the race had a positive, supportive feel that was enhanced by bystander cheering as well as runners cheering for each other. “Running through campus around mile 7 was ideal because that’s when I needed a boost, and a lot of my friends and other community members were there yelling with signs,” Sinton said. “At one point I saw my first grade teacher cheering runners on and it made me smile.”
(05/04/17 1:59am)
About a month ago, on April 1, the Middlebury women’s lacrosse team trounced Amherst 13-3. This ten-goal margin, however, would not be repeated in the first round of the NESCAC tournament. The top-seeded Panthers hosted the Mammoths at Kohn Field, looking to start their postseason title defense.
Amherst got on the board first with a goal less than five minutes into the game. Amherst goalie Kyra Gardner blocked a shot by Jenna McNicholas ’19, but ten seconds later Sara DiCenso ’19 evened the score with an assist by classmate Emma McDonagh ’19. The Mammoths responded with a tally of their own, giving Amherst a short-lived lead. After an Amherst save off of a Casey O’Neill ’19 shot, Bea Eppler ’17 finished with a goal.
At the start of the next possession, Mary O’Connell ’17 (NESCAC player of the week for May 1) controlled the draw. This led to two quick shots by O’Connell and McDonagh within two seconds of each other, both of which were saved by Gardner. At 18:50, however, O’Neill beat Gardner, giving Middlebury a 3-2 lead. About two minutes later, O’Connell was once again involved, scoring a transition goal on an assist by Hollis Perticone ’18. Two Amherst goals tied the game at four apiece, and for just over 13 minutes no team scored. With 1:33 remaining in the opening period, however, Eppler gave the panthers a 5-4 lead. With no more goals, that score held until the second half.
In the second period, Perticone controlled the draw. After a wide shot by DiCenso, Perticone notched her second assist of the day, passing to Eppler who gave the Panthers a two-goal lead. Four minutes later, O’Connell converted a free position opportunity into another point; Middlebury now led 7-4. Amherst, however, would not give up; they closed the gap to two before five consecutive Mammoth shots either missed wide or were saved by Kate Furber ’19. DiCenso, assisted by Perticone, gave Middlebury a three-goal lead once again, 8-5.
The Mammoths then scored twice within two minutes, threatening to ensue a comeback and give the Panthers an undesired early exit. With 22 seconds left and Middlebury only up by one, Furber made a clutch save, basically sealing the victory for the Panthers. Furber finished with a dozen saves, while Eppler finished with three goals and Perticone an equal number of assists.
Middlebury will move on to face Colby College this upcoming Saturday at noon, looking to push their home winning streak to 15 and avenge a regular season loss to the Mules.
Alex White ’19, who picked up two ground balls and caused two turnovers on defense, said, “over the past week, we’ve had really productive practices and have made some big strides in developing our team, so it’s anyone’s game! Colby is definitely a good team, but I think that we have the skill and desire to win, and continue on to the NESCAC championship game.”
White added that, “Any and all fans would be greatly appreciated, because a hyped up crowd can really make a difference.”
For O’Connell the game on Saturday will have extra meaning, as she understands that her career as a Panther is winding down.
“It’s definitely bittersweet as a senior because I want to cherish every moment with these girls and my fellow seniors, and for now we’ll take it day to day and enjoy every moment until the last,” O’Connell said, adding that “the team remains extremely confident [in Middlebury’s] ability to go far into post season.”
Talent, strong leadership and a will to win is a dangerous combination.
The start time for the semifinal matchup with Colby is set for 12 p.m. at Kohn Field this Saturday.
(05/04/17 1:58am)
The Middlebury Track and Field teams kicked off their postseason at the 2017 NESCAC Outdoor Championship hosted by Bowdoin this past weekend. The women, paced by two event titles and a school record, finished third (97.66 points) out of the 11 teams in the conference behind Williams (239.83) and Bates (107); the men, who took home three event victories, wound up fourth (102.50), trailing Williams (175), Tufts (167) and Bowdoin (110).
The top performances for the women came from three different sections of the team: Catie Skinner ’17 represented the long-distance runners by smoking the field in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, beating the field by over eight seconds (11:09.11); Devon Player ’18 did the throwers proud with an event-winning javelin toss of 137’6”; lastly, the 4x100 quartet of Marisa Edmondson ’20, Maddie Pronovost ’17, Natalie Cheung ’18 and Elizabeth Walkes ’20 led the charge for the sprinters, crossing the line in school-record time (48.90) to finish fourth in the event.
For the men, Alex Nichols ’17 put together an impressive day in his last NESCAC meet as a Panther. He took home the crown in the 400-meter dash (48.43), his third win in four years at the conference championships; in addition, with the help of Cameron Mackintosh ’20, Arden Coleman ’20 and Jimmy Martinez ’19, he anchored the winning 4x400 relay team that set a new meet record (3:17.45). In the field events, John Natalone ’19 won the pole vault with a jump of 14’5.25” (teammate Nathaniel Albers ’20 would finish fifth in the same event with a height of 13’11.25”).
Although he was a little hard on himself, Natalone had good things to say about the team’s showing at the meet. “In terms of my performance at the meet, I’m generally happy with how I did,” he said. “I didn’t vault as high as I wanted to, but I was just happy to be able to contribute points to the team. As a squad, we performed really well, and I am exceptionally proud of everyone who went to the meet.”
“NESCACs is a really special competition; the entire team is full of energy and hype. My performance would not have been possible if it weren’t for the vibe set up by my teammates. Everyone contributes to the meet in some fashion, even if it isn’t scoring points.”
The rest of the team followed the leaders with a number of strong performances across all the event types. Pronovost, a multitalented athlete who’s a threat to score in a number of competitions, continued her strong season with a second-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles (14.83) and a fifth-place finish in the long jump (17’0.5”); she also ran the second leg for the fifth-place 4x400 relay team, which was rounded out by Lucy Lang ’19, Kate McCluskey ’18 and Paige Fernandez ’17 (3:59.07).
Other individual highlights for the women included Meg Wilson ’20 in the 800-meter (2:14.49, fourth), Abigail Nadler ’19 in the 1,500-meter (4:36.96, third) and Talia Ruxin ’20 in the 10,000-meter (38:11.38, fourth). Off the track, Kreager Taber ’19 pole-vaulted to a second-place finish (10’8”) and Jane Freda ’17 landed fourth in the triple jump (35’7.75”). In the relays, the 4x800-meter relay team of Anna Willig ’20, Erica Dean ’20, Skinner and Wilson crossed the line second overall (9:22.91).
For the men, additional strong efforts were recorded by a number of Panthers in the 800-meter run: James Mulliken ’18 came in second (1:52.88), Nathan Hill ’20 finished fourth (1:53.88) and Kevin Serrao ’18 crossed the line fifth (1:54.10). Serrao also finished third in the 1,500-meter run (3:52.89). In the sprints, Adam Markun ’17 dashed to third place in the 200-meter race (22.06) and Michael Pallozzi ’18 wound up fifth in the 110-meter hurdles (15.28). On the field side, Alfred Hurley ’19 recorded the second-longest javelin toss of the day (189’6”) and Minhaj Rahman ’19 landed third in the hammer throw (166’9”).
With the Panthers now firmly in the postseason portion of their schedule, every meet and every event means that much more. Natalone felt confident about his team’s chances. “The outlook for the rest of the postseason is great,” he said. “We have many team members who are right on the cusp of qualifying for late postseason meets such as Open New Englands and DIII Nationals, which should make for an exciting upcoming meet this weekend at DIII New Englands.”
“In terms of positives, we have a lot of athletes qualified through this weekend, which should keep the good vibe of NESCACs going strong. Also, a lot of people are hungry for a season PR — myself included.”
He warned that the team wouldn’t just be able to coast through the end of their season, though. “We have some health related things to improve upon,” he said. “I’ve been battling back issues, and many team members are nursing shin and hip issues. Staying healthy through these next couple of weeks will be important.”
Middlebury will head down to Williams this weekend to compete in the Division III New England Championships, the last chance for athletes to qualify for the Open New Englands the following week and Division III Nationals the week after.
(05/04/17 1:51am)
The Middlebury Panthers are currently on a three-game winning streak after doubleheaders versus Trinity College and Skidmore College. The Panthers sit three games above 0.500 with a season record of 16-13.
On Saturday, April 29, the Panthers split a doubleheader against the Trinity College Bantams. In the first game the frames remained empty until the top of the third inning when Trinity’s Erik Mohl loaded the bases and walked in Jason Lock ’17 to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead.
The Bantams got of the jam, however, with an inning-ending double play stranding three Middlebury baserunners. Though the Panthers held a 2-1 lead, things started to go awry for Middlebury as Trinity opened up for five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Leading 6-2, the hosts tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the sixth to lead 9-2.
Middlebury secured another run in the top of the seventh, but Trinity’s defense held and the Bantams escaped with a 9-3 win. Colin Waters ’19 recorded the loss allowing six runs (three earned) while striking out three.
In the nightcap, the hosts were not as successful as Middlebury’s offensive found its usual groove.
The Panthers took an early 1-0 lead when Justin Han ’20 homered to deep left in the top of the first. Middlebury scored again in the third when Han tripled into the right center gap and scored on a single by captain Lock. Trinity scored their first run of the game in the bottom of the fourth, but the Panthers were quick to retaliate and did so in impressive fashion.
The top of the sixth started when Bantam’s pitcher Matt Koperniak loaded the bases followed by Han taking pitch to the back for the first run of the inning. Lock blasted a deep fly ball to center field allowing the runner on the third to tag up and score — Sam Graf ’19 followed behind with a triple in the right-center gap scoring two more. Leading 6-1, Johhny Read ’17 came into pinch hit and blasted another triple to right center scoring Graf. Finally, with a 7-1 lead, First Year Kevin Woodring ’20 — on the first pitch of his at bat — blasted a 360 foot shot over the left field wall into the bullpen.
Trailing 9-1, Trinity managed to push one run across the plate, but the Bantams proved unable to overcome the deficit and recorded the 9-2 loss. Robert Erickson ’18 earned the win, pitching five innings and allowing one, while Dylan Takamori ’17 allowed one run in two innings of relief.
After enjoying a home-cooked meal at Alan Guild ’20’s residence, the Panthers headed up to Saratoga Springs for a doubleheader against the Skidmore Thoroughbreds.
Colby Morris ’19 started game one for Middlebury on Sunday, April 30 and could not be touched through seven innings, tossing his third complete game. The hosts scored their only run in the top of the first inning and the Panthers easily matched that in the top of the third when Read drew a walk, stole second and scored on a double by Gray Goolsby ’20.
The Panthers built on their lead in the top of the fourth scoring two more runs thanks to a sacrifice fly by Raj Palekar ’18 scoring Graf and a triple by Grant Elgarten ’20 scoring Guild.
Elgarten drove into two more runs in the top of the sixth smashing a single into left field — he would finish 2-3 with three RBI’s.
In the nightcap, the Thoroughbreds put some offensive pressure on the visitors scoring first in the second; but, the Panthers were unphased as Guild ripped a triple into left center scoring Graf and Han in the top half of the third.
Skidmore fought back pushing two more across in the bottom half of the frame and held the lead 3-2 through a scoreless fourth. In the top of the fifth, Middlebury’s offense once again came alive as Graf reached on first on a single and scored on a double by Woodring. Elgarten, with men on second and third, blasted a moonshot over the left field wall for his first of the season giving the visitors a 6-3 lead.
Spencer Shores ’20 earned the win going five innings, allowing three runs on seven hits with four strikeouts. Conor Himstead ’19 came out in the sixth and seventh, pitching two scoreless innings, and earning his NESCAC-leading sixth save of the season.
“We just took care of business,” said Lock of the doubleheader sweep. “Our goal is to be a championship team. Championship teams go on the road and beat opponents during the week and on the weekends. Like I said, it was us taking care of business.
The Panthers are on a three game win streak and return to action on Saturday, May 6, against the Bowdoin Polar Bears and Sunday, May 7, against the nationally ranked Tufts Jumbos.
(04/27/17 3:35am)
This past weekend, the Middlebury men’s lacrosse team played host to visiting Colby College. In a crucial NESCAC game for the Panthers, the Mules bested the home squad to a final score of 13-10.
Colby started the game off with an early lead, going up 2-0 within the first two minutes. Henry Riehl ’18 scored to push the score to 2-1 and was assisted by A.J. Kucinski ’20 in man-up offense to bring Midd within one just three minutes into the game. The two teams then traded off goals as Kucinski scored to make the score 3-2. After a five minute scoreless drought nearing the end of the first quarter, Colby tallied two late goals to bring their lead to 5-2.
In the second quarter, Colby continued its hot shooting with two straight goals, holding a 7-2 lead with 7:11 left in the half. Matt O’Neal ’19 put the Panthers back on the scoreboard, followed eight seconds later by another clean shot by John Jackson ’18, bringing the score to 7-4. Colby closed out the half with another goal of their own, putting the score at 8-4 in favor of the Mules.
Colby came out firing again in the third quarter, scoring three in the frame while Midd managed just one goal: Riehl, assisted by Wes Quinzani ’18, put his second shot of the day in the back of the net. Middlebury, with their postseason hopes hanging in the balance, came out firing in the fourth quarter. Riehl scored two more consecutive goals, followed by two more from teammates Frankie Cosolito ’20 and Danny Jacobs ’20. Jacobs added one more goal at the end of the game, but two goals by Colby put the score out of reach, ending the contest at 13-10.
In the game, Riehl led the way for the Panthers with four goals, while Kucinski had a team high two assists. Chase Midgley ’19 played most of the game in goal, totaling 45 minutes in the net, while captain Will Ernst ’17 finished the game off in the final 15 minutes. Jackson and Jake Madnick ’20 won 17/27 total faceoffs on the day and Jackson also added a team high seven ground ball recoveries to lead the Middlebury team.
Riehl now sits at fourth place among the NESCAC scoring leaders at 43 and Kucinski is also in fourth place in assists with 30 in his first campaign for Midd. With just one game left to play, Midd sits in eighth place in the conference and needs either a win against Williams or for Colby to have lost last night to Bates on Wednesday. If either result happens, the Panthers will make the NESCAC tournament beginning on Saturday, April 29 and will likely play either Amherst, Wesleyan or Bates, depending on the results of this week’s contests.
Chris Bradbury ’19 said, “Coming off a tough loss and going into a must-win game against a historically and currently competitive team in Williams ... we are looking to build on what we did at the end of the game against Colby by addressing certain areas of weakness during this week of practice … and to come out with a competitive mentality that will drive us into making a run at the NESCAC championship.”
(04/27/17 2:50am)
The Middlebury track and field team traveled down to the University of Albany this past weekend to compete at the 33rd Albany Spring Classic, a non-scoring meet featuring over 700 athletes from all three NCAA divisions as well as club teams. Both the women’s and men’s teams turned in a bevy of strong performances, making their presence known on the track as well as in field events.
After the competition had finished, senior jumper Jane Freda ’17 offered her thoughts on the last meet of the Panthers’ regular season. “Albany is always an interesting meet,” she said. “It’s always after the last big week of practices before we start tapering for post-season, so performances definitely vary more than other meets. There’s always some crazy wind at Albany, and the tailwind was great for short sprinters and jumpers, but pretty tough for long sprinters/distance runners. But given the weather conditions and high volume training, I felt like as a whole we did pretty well.”
And according to the timesheet, the Panthers certainly did well by themselves. For the women, the 4x100-meter relay team of Ellie Greenberg ’20, Natalie Cheung ’18, Maddie Pronovost ’17 and Elizabeth Walkes ’20 continued their remarkable string of performances, winning the event with a time of 49.17 seconds. The other Panther victory was secured by Julia Lothrop ’19 in the javelin toss (122’6”), who barely edged out teammate Devon Player ’18 (122’2”).
Other strong track efforts by the women included a second-place finish in the 5,000-meter race by Talia Ruxin ’20 (17:45.28) and two fifth-place finishes by Rose Kelly ’19 in the 1,500-meter race (4:52.51) and Claire Gomba ’19 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (12:05.34).
On the field side, Freda leapt to fifth place in both the long jump (17’) and the triple jump (35’7.75”), finishing behind four Division I athletes in each event.
“I was surprised I jumped as well as I did,” Freda said later. “I took the last meet off to recover from a quad injury so it was a great confidence boost going into NESCACs. I jumped really close to my PR’s so hopefully I can continue these good vibes into the next couple weeks!”
But the men’s team was not without its own share of strong showings, either. For the distance runners, Henry Fleming ’20 crossed the line third in the 3,000-meter race (9:01.41) and Harrison Knowlton ’19 finished fourth in the 5,000-meter event (15:22.70). The Panthers had a pair of strong performances in the 1,500-meter race, with Nathan Hill ’20 winding up fourth (3:59.13) and Connor Evans ’19 finishing sixth (4:01.91). Lastly, Theodore Henderson ’20 snagged sixth place in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (9:59.28).
In the shorter events, the Middlebury men had a pair of sixth-place finishes: Jackson Bock ’18 in the 200-meter dash (21.47) and Paul Malloy ’18 in the 400-meter hurdles (58.66). In the 110-meter hurdle preliminaries, Mike Pallozzi ’18 posted the best DIII time of the day and third-best time overall (15.60). Lastly, Tyler Chaisson ’17 finished sixth in the shot put (44’10.25”) and Taylor Moore ’18 finished sixth in the javelin (151’).
This Saturday, Middlebury will head back to Bowdoin for the NESCAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Amid their preparations, Freda explained what she thought would be the keys for the Panthers at their first postseason meet.
“As cliché as it sounds,” she said, “I think grit and hard work are going to be the keys to our success. Looking at the seeds for this meet, there are so many events that are really really close. Giving that little extra effort to run a little faster, throw or jump just a little further could make a huge difference in the end. We have so much talent and we’ve been training so hard all year—this is the time to get gritty and leave it all out on the track, runway or field!”
(04/21/17 5:55pm)
In this, the fourth week of Middlebury Track and Field’s outdoor season, the team headed over to Brunswick, Maine to compete in the Bowdoin Invitational on Saturday, April 15. Overall, both Panther teams performed rather well: the women wound up second out of four teams, their 89 total points only two behind the victorious Polar Bears’ 91, and the men wound up second out of three teams with 92 total points. In almost every single event a Middlebury athlete finished somewhere in the top three and the men and women combined for a total of seven event victories and one new school record.
Before the meet, Head Coach Martin Beatty ’84 explained how large of an impact being outdoors has on the team. “Everyone is always excited to get outside on the outdoor track,” he said. “It is a different sport. The analogy is going from bumper pool to a regular billiards table. It is also nice to be in the outdoors after feeling cooped up for the winter.”
But that’s not to say the transition doesn’t require some adjustments. “The environment is controlled indoors,” Beatty said. “Outside there are different factors to deal with such as wind, temperature, etc. These elements play a role in performance, and one’s technique needs to adjust accordingly.”
In particular, it was the field athletes who seemed to profit most from the sunshine this past Saturday, accounting for five of the Panthers’ seven event victories. For the women, Kristin Kimble ’19 won the high jump after successfully leaping over 5’0.25” and Kreager Taber ’19 cleared a height of 10’2” in the pole vault. On the men’s side, Nathaniel Albers ’20 jumped over 13’9.25” to win the pole vault, Taylor Moore ’18 finished first in the javelin with a throw of 170’7” and Jonathan Fisher ’20 racked up 5,095 points in the decathlon.
The track athletes had their share of outstanding performances, too. Katherine MacCary ’19 won the 5,000-meter race handily in 18:00.95, some 18 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. Arden Coleman ’20 snagged first place in the 400-meter dash with a winning time of 49.87.
And last but not least, the women’s 4x100 relay team of Ellie Greenberg ’20, Natalie Cheung ’18, Maddie Pronovost ’17 and Elizabeth Walkes ’20 set a new school record of 49.09 seconds, lowering the one set two weeks prior at Point Loma Nazarene University in California.
Cheung couldn’t suppress her excitement about this year’s 4x100 team. “This is the first time the women’s team has had a really solid 4x1 in a few years,” she said, “and it’s really exciting. We’re hoping to drop our time this weekend at Albany and go into NESCACs with a fast seed. [First-year] relay member Lizzie Walkes has nicknamed the relay the ‘4xFun’ with good reason.”
Looking forward, Panther athletes will be competing in two separate meets this weekend: the Larry Ellis Invitational at Princeton on Friday and the Albany Invitational on Saturday. They following week, they will be headed back to Bowdoin for the NESCAC championship meet.
When asked how she felt about where the team stood after Saturday’s meet, Cheung had positive things to offer. “The Bowdoin Invite got us all really excited for the end of our regular season and the beginning of post season,” she said. “We’ve really been focusing on running as a team rather than as individuals, and that’s been really important.”
“The team has been having a great year, and we’re all really excited for NESCACs. All our excitement really just comes back to Coach Martin Beatty, so we hope we can earn him a NESCACs victory.”
(04/21/17 2:40am)
The Education Studies (EDST) program has proposed a new double major, intended to compensate students’ work towards obtaining teaching licensures with academic validation. Currently, the Education Studies (EDST) program only offers a minor, which students can take in one of two directions: a focus on general education studies or the attainment of a formal teaching license.
The Education Studies Program has for years enabled Middlebury students to obtain teaching licenses in the State of Vermont. The program has won popularity for its ability to provide insight into education as a discipline and how the system functions in America.
Although students are fortunate that Middlebury offers an education minor, the current system requires those who are pursuing teaching licenses to take 13 courses in elementary education or 12 courses in secondary education. These parameters exceed what is asked of most majors at the College, leading administrators to conclude that the demands do not fit the program’s status as a minor.
Headed by Director Jonathan Miller-Lane, the EDST program has drafted a proposal that creates a double major, with Education Studies and another discipline of the student’s choice, as the most advantageous way for students to fulfill the teaching license requirements.
The proposal was brought to the attention of the entire faculty on April 7 at the Faculty Plenary meeting, when the Educational Affairs Committee, a six-member body responsible for the direction of the undergraduate curriculum, endorsed the program after months of consideration.
At the meeting, the committee provided a summary of the agenda, stating that it embraced “the idea of training students as teachers” and of “recognizing education as a discipline worthy of scholarly pursuit.”
The proposition of an EDST double-major has now finally passed the first stage in the process of garnering support. Next comes a vote by the entire faculty, expected later this year.
“The committee studied it over several months, requested additional information, met with representatives of the program, and determined that the proposal merited their support,” said Suzanne Gurland, the dean of curriculum and chair of the Educational Affairs Committee. “The full faculty will have the opportunity to discuss the proposal at an open meeting, and then to vote on it at a subsequent faculty meeting.”
The interdisciplinary double-major will first become available to first-years arriving fall 2017, assuming the proposal is passed at the next faculty meeting. The double-major is aimed only at students who are pursuing an elementary- or secondary-education teacher’s license. The minor in education will still be available for those who are interested in the field, but are not aspiring to teach. Education Studies, however, would not be available as a stand-alone major.
Students who opt to participate in the double-major must still enroll in a “professional semester” as was previously required with the minor. This involves a full-time teaching experience in a local school, which students may choose to do either during their senior year or during a ninth semester after graduation. This professional requirement enables students to gain real-life experience in teaching, under the guidance of a “master teacher” and a College advisor.
“The depth of students’ learning in the licensure curriculum is akin to that in other majors, and involves substantially more coursework than a minor,” Gurland said. “So if the proposal for a double-major passes, it will be a more accurate description of students’ learning.”
(04/20/17 5:23pm)
After a tough stretch a few weeks ago and some encouraging steps towards success two weekends ago, the Middlebury Men’s lacrosse team finally put it all together this past week. Last week featured two marquee matchups for the team as they took on an athletic Springfield team at home to kick off a three-game homestand.
Springfield was 6-2 entering the game, receiving votes in the NCAA D3 top-25 poll similar to Middlebury, and posed a great matchup and test before a crucial conference game against Trinity on Saturday. The Panthers met and triumphed in both contests, winning 13-12 over Springfield and 11-7 over Trinity.
In the Springfield game, sophomore Chase Midgley ’19 started and played all 60 minutes in goal, making 11 saves on 23 shots. Jake Madnick ’20 and John Jackson ’18 completed a great duo in face offs as Madnick won 13/17 and Jackson won 8/12. On offense, Luke Peterson ’19 and Henry Riehl ’18 led the way with three goals each, followed closely by A.J. Kucinski ’20 who added two shots to the back of the net and two assists. Madnick and Jake DeFrino ’17 tied in picking up a team high eight ground balls, four more than the next best result for either team.
After a close loss against Bates the preceding Saturday, this was a great game to win for the Panthers, showing that they could still compete at an elite level even without several key starters who are lost to the year because of injury, including Clay Hunt ’19, Jack Gould ’19, and Michael McCormick ’19.
“Even though we have had injuries other players are stepping up to fill their roles,” said Chris Bradbury ’19. “Having a win going into a Saturday game is always a big confidence boost which helped us to a win.”
Saturday’s game featured a matchup between two teams vying to make the NESCAC playoffs as Trinity entered 0-7 in conference games while Middlebury was 2-5 and currently occupies the eighth and last playoff spot. Middlebury started off strongly on Saturday, taking a quick 4-2 lead on goals from Chase Goree ’20, Jackson, Peterson and Riehl, but let their lead slip in the second quarter, falling behind 6-5 at the half. The second half was all Panthers though as they were surely inspired by the warm weather and big crowd who came out to Alumni Stadium to support them. The Panthers went on a 6-2 scoring run to close out the game, with goals from Kucinski (2), Danny Jacobs ’20, and Riehl (3). Kucinski added four assists to lead Middlebury who earned their third NESCAC victory, putting them in a good position heading into next Saturday’s game against Colby College. Midgley had a breakout game in the net too, saving 16/23 shots, cementing himself as a key piece to the Middlebury lineup.
With just two regular season games left, Midd needs to win at least one of more game to clinch a playoff berth. Riehl is having an outstanding season for the Panthers and is just three goals off of the league leading number of 42, and eight off of the league leading assists mark of 36, looking to find himself on an All-NESCAC team at the end of the season.
(01/20/17 1:41am)
With the start of J-term, the Middlebury College Museum of Art has brought a brand new exhibition to campus, titled “Untouched by Time: The Athenian Acropolis from Pericles to Parr.” On Jan. 13, Professor of History of Art and Architecture Pieter Broucke, who also serves as the Director of the Arts and the curator of this exhibition, gave a virtual tour of the intriguing collection at the Dance Theater.
What makes the exhibition unique, according to Broucke, is that every art work included comes from the holdings of Middlebury itself — including those from the museum, libraries and local private collections.
“It’s a very specialized topic, and yet it’s all done with material from here,” Broucke said. “And it’s not just that we have all the material, there is actually some very good-quality material.”
Besides the content itself, the time period covered by the works of art — three centuries — shows yet again the thought put into curating the exhibition. The exhibition is divided into six sections in chronological order, each focusing on a different theme. According to the exhibition note, the wide-ranging art works “bear testimony to the enduring fascination with the Athenian Acropolis that persists to this day.”
The first part, called “Early Travelers,” documents the growing recognition of Ancient Greece being the “true fountainhead” of Western civilization through publications, drawings and paintings by early antiquarians, including volumes of James Stuart and Nicholas Revett’s The Antiquities of Athens, the very first study of the Greek remains that was published in 1762.
The second section, “Classical Antiquities in Early Photography,” highlights the role of newly-invented photography in perceiving the Ancient Acropolis, featuring a number of important photographs, including the very first photo ever taken at Didyma by French photographer Joseph-Philibert de Prangey. Another notable photographer, William Stillman, took a series of unusual photos of the Acropolis.
“He [Stillman] believed that it is important that…you have to stand right in front of them, as a way of getting an objective view of the monument,” Broucke explained.
The third section, “Greetings from Athens,” focuses on the rise of tourism in Greece. The invention of the snapshot camera enabled tourists to take their own photos, one of which Broucke acquired himself from “an old store along Route 7.” He dated the photo to sometime between 1894 and 1902 because of the condition of the building, and happily pointed out that the box of the Kodak Camera is in fact right in the frame.
The fourth part, “Pure Creation of the Mind,” is in fact a survey of the Modernist architects and artists on the Acropolis and includes a stunning photograph taken by Edward Steichen of Isadora Duncan, known as the mother of modern dance, who poses in front of the Parthenon portico. Also included is artist Le Corbusier’s publication, Vers une architecture (Towards an Architecture), which unconventionally compares photos ancient Greek buildings to modern cars.
The fifth section, “The Acropolis Restoration Project,” consists mainly of Socratis Mavrommatis’ photographs that record the “heroic undertaking” of the revolutionary and huge restoration project from 1975 to 2002. The project took shape largely because of a United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) report saying that the Acropolis was in bad shape as a result of pollution, a great amount of foot traffic from tourists and other factors.
Finally, “The Acropolis, Globalization, and Mass Tourism” shows how “the Acropolis continues to inspire.” It includes a copy of the front cover of The Economist of April 2010, which was ironically titled, “Acropolis Now,” speaking to the Greek financial crisis. There is also British photographer Martin Parr’s almost entertaining photo of two tour groups in front of the Acropolis in 1991.
“Here, the Parthenon is … providing the excuse or backdrop,” Broucke said. “And if you look carefully, there is no one person paying attention to that majestic building or the understanding behind it.”
He added that, while for many tourists visiting the Acropolis may be “checking off the bucket list,” seeing the remains was at least for him an incredibly moving experience.
The exhibition intends to highlight the idea that the Acropolis has moved beyond representing Ancient Athens.
“It has become the iconic monument associated with Greece as a modern nation state. On a loftier level, it marks the birthplace of Western civilization and serves as the global symbol of democracy,” reads one museum label.
Another “first” of the exhibition is that there will be an online version of the entire display, which Broucke considers to be very important for archiving. This is also only feasible because the College now owns all the works of art.
